| Posted March 19, 2007
Development Assistance & Foreign Aid | Health, HIV/AIDS & Infectious Diseases | Humanitarian Assistance
Human Development Report 2006: Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis
Watkins, Kevin
United Nation Development Programme, November 2006, online edition
"Throughout history water has confronted humanity with some of its greatest challenges. Water is a source of life and a natural resource that sustains our environments and supports livelihoods – but it is also a source of risk and vulnerability. In the early 21st Century, prospects for human development are threatened by a deepening global water crisis. Debunking the myth that the crisis is the result of scarcity, this report argues poverty, power and inequality are at the heart of the problem." Fulltext H1/02-07
Food Aid and Its Relationship to WTO Rules and the Development Agenda
Schneider, Andreas
German Marshall Fund of the United States, January 2, 20007, online edition
“In a report to the German Marshall Fund, Andreas Schneider of the Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS) examined the relationships among food aid, WTO rules, and development. His analysis suggests that food aid per se is not a wasteful way to help the poor if it is procured and targeted in an efficient way. […] In his study Schneider systematically dissects the various arguments around food aid by providing definitions, outlining the broad trends in food aid types, and analyzing the procurement and effectiveness of food aid.” Andreas Schneider is a Research Fellow at the Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS). Fulltext H2/02-07
U.S. Foreign Aid to East and South Asia: Selected Recipients
Lum, Thomas
CRS Report, January 3, 2007, online edition, 43p
"Since the war on terrorism began in 2001, and the Bush Administration’s
Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) and Global HIV/AIDS Initiative (GHAI)
were initiated in 2004, the United States has increased foreign aid spending dramatically in some regions. The United States has raised military, economic, and development assistance primarily for counterterrorism objectives in the East Asia- Pacific (EAP) and South Asia regions, with Pakistan, India, the Philippines, and Indonesia receiving the bulk of the increases. This report analyzes annual budget justifications and legislation for foreign operations and discusses U.S. foreign aid trends, programs, and restrictions in 16 East Asian and South Asian countries." Thomas Lum is Specialist in Asian Affairs Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division. Fulltext H3/02-07
Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership on HIV/AIDS
A Report of a July 13, 2006, Conference of the Task Force on HIV/AIDS
Copson, Raymond W.
CSIS Report, February 23, 2007, online edition, 24p
"The CSIS Task Force on HIV/AIDS is cochaired by Senators Bill Frist (R-Tenn.)and Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) and is funded principally by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with project support and input from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and Merck and Co." The Task Force outlines strategic choices that lie ahead for the United States in fighting the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. J. Stephen Morrison, Executive Director, CSIS Task Force on HIV/AIDS. Fulltext H4/02-07
77 New Medicines Now in Development for HIV/AIDS
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), Medicines in Development for HIV/Aids 2006, November 2006, 40p
Seventy-seven new medicines and vaccines are in development to treat HIV/AIDS and related conditions, according to a survey released today by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). Recent reports show AIDS has killed more than 25 million people and infected an estimated 40 million people worldwide. As many as 1.2 million U.S. residents are estimated to have HIV infection. Fulltext H5/02-07
Burying Evidence: The Union of Concerned Scientists’ Unscientific Claims about Air Pollution and Health.
American Enterprise Institute, Web posted January 23, 2007, online edition, 20p
In Digging Up Trouble: The Health Risks of Construction Pollution in California , the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) claimed that air pollution from construction vehicles killed more than 1,100 Californians each year, sickened hundreds of thousands, and cost more than $9 billion per year. This report, written by a former executive with the state of California’s vehicle emissions inspection program, challenges those claims. Fulltext H6/02-07
Genetic Testing: Scientific Background for Policymakers
Sarata, Amada K.
CRS Reports, January 26, 2007, online edition, 13p
In the 109th Congress, several pieces of legislation were introduced that related genetic and genomic technology and testing, including the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2005 (S. 306/H.R. 1227), the Genomics and Personalized Medicine Act of 2006 (S. 3822) and the Prenatally Diagnosed Condition Awareness Act (S. 609). Although none of these bills passed, they signal the growing importance of the public policy issues surrounding the clinical and public health implications of new genetic technology. As genetic technologies proliferate and are increasingly used to guide clinical treatment, these public policy issues are likely to continue to garner considerable attention. Understanding the basic scientific concepts underlying genetics and genetic testing may help facilitate the development of more effective public policy in this area. Amanda K. Sarata is an Analyst in Genetics. Fulltext H7/02-07
Combating Addiction
Clemmitt, Marcia
CQ Researcher, February 9, 2007, v17,#6, pp.121-144
"Many scientists now agree that genetics and environment play about equal roles in addiction. And researchers recently identified brain differences in addicts that may eventually lead to treatments that eliminate drug cravings. But with U.S. addiction rates remaining steady at about 9 percent of the population, the secret to who stays hooked and who breaks free — either through treatment or by their own efforts — remains a mystery. As a result, debate still rages over whether health insurance should cover more addiction treatment. Advocates for addicts also argue that states should reduce tough penalties for drug offenders, such as depriving ex-felons of the right to vote. Recovered addicts are banding together to lobby for better insurance and an end to laws that stigmatize substance abusers. But opponents argue that treating addiction as a disease, not a choice, merely encourages some people to continue abusive behavior." Marcia Clemmitt is a CQ Researcher's staff writer. Order Article H8/02-07
Unprepared for a Pandemic
Osterholm, Michael
Foreign Affairs, March/April 2007, v86, #2, pp47-57
“The need to prepare for an influenza pandemic has not yet sunk in, partly because disaster has not yet struck. But that good news could turn into very bad news if it leads to slacking off on necessary preparations today: although no one can predict when or how, a pandemic will occur for sure, and it will have implications far beyond its toll on human health.”
Michael T. Osterholm is Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, a Professor in the School of Public Health, and an Adjunct Professor in the Medical School at the University of Minnesota.
Fulltext H9/02-07
Earthquakes: Risk, Monitoring, Notification and Research
Folger, Peter
Congressional Research Service, February 2, 2007, online edition, 21p
"Close to 75 million people in 39 states face some risk from earthquakes.Seismic hazards are greatest in the western United States, particularly California, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii. The Rocky Mountain region, a portion of the central United States known as the New Madrid Seismic Zone, and portions of the eastern seaboard, particularly South Carolina, also have a relatively high earthquake hazard. Compared to citizens of other countries, relatively few Americans have died as a result of earthquakes over the past 100 years, but the country faces the possibility of large economic losses from earthquake-damaged buildings and infrastructure. Until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the 1994 Northridge (CA) earthquake was the costliest natural catastrophe to strike the United States; some damage estimates were $26 billion (in today’s dollars). Estimates of total loss from a hypothetical earthquake of magnitude more than 7.0 range as high as $500 billion for the Los Angeles area...Given the potentially huge costs associated with a severe earthquake, an ongoing issue for Congress is whether the federally supported programs aimed at reducing U.S. vulnerability to earthquakes are an appropriate response to the earthquake hazard." Peter Folger is Specialist in Energy Policy Resources, Science, and Industry Division. Fulltext H10/02-07
The Ecology of Genocide
Bauer, Shane
E: the Environmental Magazine, Mar/Apr 2007, v18, #2; pp14-17
A recent report coauthored by Oxfam says climate change impacts Africa more than many other regions of the world because of widespread poverty, disease and people's daily dependence on natural resources. According to refugees, when armed rebel groups rose up in Darfur demanding that the Sudanese government end the political and economic marginalization of their people, President Omar Al-Bashir exploited the preexisting resource conflicts by arming, financing, and training Arab tribes to target civilian populations. Fulltext H11/02-07
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